5 Fun Facts About Tea

8×10 raspberry tea painting on 140 lbs watercolor paper. I love the little Asian tea cups when I go to a Chinese restaurant, and having them all in a row fit with the whole Asian them of having everything presented perfectly. shalevbasya.storenvy.com

1) Tea, except herbal teas, is made from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Black, green, and oolong tea are all plucked from the same brush, but go through different processes to end up with those flavors. Black is fermented. Oolong tea is semi fermented, and green tea is unfermented. White tea is also unfermented, but are baby tea leaves, taken before the buds open.

2) Until the 19th century, nearly all tea was grown in China with Great Britain as the main exporter. Because trade with China became difficult, Great Britain began smuggling plants out of China and setting them up in regions or India and Africa, which are still major exporters.

3) Even though China grows the most tea, they don’t drink the most tea. The citizens of the United States of Emirates drink 14 lbs of tea a year. The British come in 7th and the United States comes in 69th of the top 100. Between everyone, tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world with an average of 3 billion cups a year.

4) The tea bag was actually an accident. Thomas Sullivan, an American, sent out samples in silk bags. No one knew to take the tea out of the bag and just threw the tea in with the silk bag. He then started making ready-to-use bags out of gauze, and the now the tea bag is the most popular way to drink tea.

5) Green tea is know to have many health benefits, such as fighting against heart disease, certain forms of cancer, and diabetes. It can also help lower cholesterol. Some of the findings have been disputed, but many doctors agree that a cup of green tea a day will do good things for your health!

What other interesting facts do you know? Tell me about it in the comments below!